Modular fire fighting units which may be installed onto an unmodified cargo truck are known in the prior art. Such units can economically convert an ordinary cargo truck into an effective fire fighting unit in a relatively short period of time. The fire fighting unit provided by such a device provides a very useful supplement to conventional, "metropolitan" fire trucks, which are necessarily few in number at any particular time due to their expense, and the limited resources of the localities which purchase and maintain them.
However, such prior art modular fire fighting units are not without shortcomings. For example, many of them are too large to be installed on popular, low-cost commercial pickup trucks. Additionally, the controls of such prior art modules can only be operated from the cargo area or bed of the truck, and not from the cab area, thus rendering a mobile assault on brush or grass fires difficult, if not impossible, for a single vehicle operator to accomplish. The weight associated with such prior art modules makes it difficult to transport in light-duty aircraft. Finally, the location of the fire hoses in the cargo area of the truck further hampers the ability of the vehicle operator to make a mobile "frontal assault" on a fire while in the cab of the vehicle.
Clearly, a need exists for a self-contained, fire fighting module which can easily convert a low-cost, popular model pickup truck into a fire truck capable of mounting a mobile, frontal assault on a fire. Additionally, in order to maximize the cost-effectiveness of such units, it would be desirable if such a module could serve purposes other than fighting fires, such as the distribution of decontamination chemicals, insecticides or fertilizers.